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Riley Green Leads Oklahoma Fans In “Courtesy Of The Red, White & Blue” Sing-Along To Honor Toby Keith
That is how you honor Toby Keith.
Yes, that's a shot at the CMA Awards - and not even a veiled one. I'm not afraid to point out how embarrassing of a tribute they gave to the Big Dog Daddy. In fact, I covered it in real time, and one of my esteemed colleagues also touched on how Toby Keith deserved so much better from the CMA's.
Thankfully, the University of Oklahoma has been doing Toby Keith tributes right all year long. When he first passed away back in February after a battle with stomach cancer, the Oklahoma basketball program did a "Red Solo Cup" night at their stadium (where every drink that was served was provided in TK's cup of choice).
And when football season rolled around, the University of Oklahoma announced as a part of their official “In-Game Experience” upgrades that the Sooners would honor one of their state’s most famous ambassadors, Toby Keith, with a sing along between the 3rd and 4th quarters of games. Though the “Big Dog Daddy” never attended OU, he was a super fan all of his life, and he sent his children there for college.
The in-game experience modifications were made official back in August, along with some other improvements:
“Fans will benefit from improved connectivity with AT&T’s 5G service and enjoy amplified band performances and enhanced in-game graphics with live 3D renderings of game stats.
A new real-time decibel meter will measure crowd impact, encouraging fans to make sure the Sooners can hear and feel their support.
The Toby Keith Tribute 3rd/4th quarter break will celebrate the Oklahoma icon, giving 85,000 fans the opportunity to sing along with the legendary Sooner super fan.”
As you might imagine, those sing along opportunities have been incredible. Seeing 80,000 plus people packed together inside a stadium and singing along to some of Toby Keith's biggest hits has been heartwarming, and as I mentioned earlier (I don't mind sounding like a broken record), how Big Dog Daddy tributes should go.
The new tradition continued this past weekend with a little help from country music star Riley Green. He was at the Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to watch the Sooners face off against the Alabama Crimson Tide... and eventually upset the Tide. But before the game went final, the "Worst Way" singer helped lead the Toby Keith sing along in between the third and fourth quarters.
He shared the moment with Xavier, a child there to represent the Toby Keith Foundation and Oklahoma Children's Hospital:
"Had a great time honoring the late Toby Keith with Xavier of the Toby Keith Foundation and Oklahoma Children's Hospital at the Oklahoma and Alabama football game last night."
https://www.instagram.com/p/DCxJi9CS6Li/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=37f0728a-85c9-4c44-a1ce-4261b53e8668
The moment was incredibly memorable, as the packed house (they were playing and beating Alabama after all) passionately sang along to "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" with the help of rising country music star Riley Green and his friend Xavier.
The Big Dog Daddy would be proud:
@squirrel291 #4thquarter #tobykeith #soonersfootball ♬ original sound - Joe Mac